Moon highlights wide mass expanse traversing west to east at an even pace

Around 1 a.m. I went outside to observe the bright moon and immediately noticed what appeared to be a wide ray of light just west of the moon, spanning the entire sky north and south, but as I continued to observe this phenomena I realized it was creeping across the sky and actually moving at a deliberate pace east.

As I watched, it was obvious that the moon was illuminating whatever it was -- (like a gas or some type of energy?) and not headlights from a plane or jet plumage. As I continued to investigate, it slowly -- and at a deliberate and even pace - traversed east across the moon.

I got the sense I was witnessing something quite unique and even though it sounds mundane as I type this, it was truly awesome as it stretched as far north and south as the eye could see. It was geometrically perfect, narrowing at both ends. If I had to guess at what it might be, I could only say that I believe it was a deliberate mass of something that had a specific purpose.

As it arrived close to the moon and was about to cross it, I could determine it was approximately twice as wide as the moon, and as it traveled east and away from the moon, it got dimmer until I could no longer make out the outline.

NOTE: I am a frequent sky watcher, C2C listener and have observed (and filmed) many unexplained phenomena and I have never seen anything like this before.